Australia’s TGA Opens Public Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the ‘Poisons Standard’
On 17th January 2025, Australia’s TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) initiated a one-month consultation period for proposed changes to the ‘Poisons Standard’.
Formally named the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons, or SUSMP, the Poisons Standard is a legislative instrument which sets the level of control on the availability and supply of ‘Poisons’, which are classified into schedules. Cosmetic ingredients are included in the Poisons Standard, along with medicines, agricultural chemicals and other types of chemicals.
The amendments involve changes to a number of substances for use in cosmetic products, including cyanoacrylate esters used in eyelash adhesives, BPA glycidyl diacrylate (CAS 4687-94-9) and BPA glycidyl dimethacrylate (CAS 1565-94-2) used in nail products, and medium and long chain (C6-15) alkyl sulfates used as surfactants.
Comments may be submitted until 17th February 2025.
You may read the notice and submit comments here.
GB’s OPSS Amends Methyl Salicylate Restriction in UK Cosmetic Regulations
On 16th January 2025, the UK OPSS (Office for Product Safety Standards) notified the WTO of a proposed amendment to Annex III of the UK Cosmetic Products Regulations, to restrict the use of methyl salicylate in cosmetic products following its CMR classification and advice from the SAG-CS. This would apply to products newly placed on the market from 30th September 2025, and products made available on the market from 31st March 2026. This draft amendment is open for comments for 60 days from the date of notification.
Click here for the WTO notice.
SCCS Revises Opinion on Children’s Exposure to Methyl Salicylate
On 20th January 2025, the EU SCCS (Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety) published a revision to its opinion SCCS/1654/24 on methyl salicylate with additional data on children’s exposure.
The SCCS concluded the safe use concentration of methyl salicylate should not exceed 0.45% in toothpaste and 0.02% in other products, when used in products intended for children of age 0-3 years.
The Revision may be found here.
Taiwan’s FDA Publishes Two Gazette Notifications on New Labelling Requirements
On 21st January 2025, the Taiwan FDA (Food and Drug Administration) published to its Gazette two documents - a draft of ‘Ingredients of Specific Fragrances or Flavorings That Should Be Labeled in Cosmetics’ and a draft amendment to the ‘Labeling Requirements for Cosmetic Packaging, Containers, Labels or Directions’.
The ‘Ingredients of Specific Fragrances or Flavorings That Should Be Labeled in Cosmetics’ draft includes twenty-four fragrance ingredients which shall be individually specified on labels when their concentration exceeds 0.01% for rinse-off products and 0.001% for leave-on products, much like EU requirements.
The draft amendment to point 7 of the ‘Labeling Requirements for Cosmetic Packaging, Containers, Labels or Directions’ incorporates the above requirements into law.
Comments may be submitted until 24th March 2025.
Links to the Gazette notices are below:
Ingredients of Specific Fragrances or Flavorings That Should Be Declared in Cosmetics
Labeling Requirements for Cosmetic Packaging, Containers, Labels or Directions
South Korea’s MFDS Prohibits Additional Expressions on Cosmetic Labels and Advertisements
On 21st January 2025, the South Korean MFDS (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety) published a press release expanding its list of prohibited expressions in cosmetic labelling and advertisement, with the aim of providing industry guidance on misleading claims. These prohibited expressions cover cosmetic products designated for medical use, products containing human-derived ingredients, products with non-cosmetic use recommendations (e.g. needles/microneedles) and products claiming to decrease skin age by n years.
The press release may be found here.
